Veterans Day

With the war going on in Iraq we keep our mind on the soldiers who are fighting the war whether we believe in the war are not. As Black Americans it becomes a double whammy because of our past treatment...

... as veterans and some current practices of discrimination.

I decided to review some of the history through the eyes of the Black Press. It was the late John H. Sengstacke of the Chicago Defender that had to push President Franklin D. Roosevelt to integrate the military. It was under President Harry Truman that Sengstacke was appointed to the Commission to desegregate the military in the 1940s. That was also during the time (World War II) the Tuskegee Airmen of Alabama were created and the first Black Marine Corp formed in North Carolina outside of Camp Lejune and thus created a long line of current famous veterans to follow in America.

Many are still living and we should get with them and capture their stories so our young people will not think they got to the top on their own. These past Black veteranss heroes paid a tremendous price in fighting in wars while their parents and relatives were being denied civil rights back home. Many of them came back home and were denied employment because of the color of their skin, yet they turned around and sent their sons off to fight in Korea.

Black veterans have laid their life on the line for the rest of us to enjoy the freedom we currently have in America and the world. It is because of the way they conducted themselves in other countries that we are well received when traveling abroad. We did not get angry with some of our white fellow Americans soldiers when they told the French, Italians and Germans that we had tails, we kept on fighting. We have not stopped volunteering for the military even while this country is fighting to turn back the hands of time on some of our Affirmative Action gains.

Yes we keep on fighting even though we have never been ordered into war by some one who looks like us. We keep on fighting abroad for others freedom while fighting racial discrimination at home. Yes we have an awful lot to thank the Black veteran for in America. The same is true for the Indians, Hispanics and Asians who live in America. To all veterans who have fought for the rights of others, thanks for trying to make the American dream a reality for all of us. Have a happy and grateful Veterans Day.

Mr. DA Do the Right Thing

The people of San Bernardino have a situation where Floyd Tidwell, former sheriff, has been or could be charged with over five hundred felony counts for stealing hundreds of guns while he was in office. The District Attorney has offered these charges be reduced to a misdemeanor. At first they wanted him to just return the guns and give the names of who he had given them to as gifts. They thought better of that because it might be embarrassing to his friends like judges, lawyers, police chiefs, doctors and civic leaders from clubs like Kiwanis and Rotary.

Tidwell stole the guns so he could give them to his family members and friends to show his status as the top cop in the county. You know how it is when you are on top. This becomes your right to go above the law. Now all of you know what the District Attorney would do if he was Black, Hispanic, Indian and Asian. He would be making funeral arrangements to be buried in prison.

Now Im not advocating that Tidwell should get jail time for his crime, but I am advocating that the District Attorney and other law enforcement agencies demonstrate the same kind of compassion and understanding when it comes to other citizens of color. Instead of being quick to send a Black criminal off for twenty five years for stealing a loaf of bread because he was hungry, show the same understanding. I know it is hard to do because you dont know the Black man, however take a look at the circumstances.

If you do not know any Blacks then make it your mission to get to know us. You will find we are the same in many situations and want the same for our loved ones. Now do the right thing by Tidwell and others who violate the laws in San Bernardino County against its citizens.

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